


Duet

by i_dalliance



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Band Fic, Coming of Age, Eventual Romance, F/M, High School, Mutual Pining, Origin Story, Pining, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:00:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28992576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_dalliance/pseuds/i_dalliance
Summary: Rewrite of Shepard's origins.~------------------~Instead of meeting on the Citadel during Saren's trial - Garrus and Shepard are long friends having met while young as they live on the same colony. Their fast friendship only grew as they set their eyes on a common goal, to play in the Citadel Music Competition. In every year they try to reach as far as they can, trying to qualify in either band or a duet. They can only take the steps forward as their band's new director leads everyone else towards the Prothean space station that was their glittering prize.Band Kids Shakarian AUON HIATUS DUE TO LACK OF INTEREST
Relationships: Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian
Kudos: 9





	1. Da Capo

**Author's Note:**

> Chapters Musical Term - Da Capo : return to the beginning. Can be abreviate to D. C. but it indicates a repeat of a section. Used to save space from rewriting the section again. 
> 
> There's an explaination of Garrus' instrument at the bottom. I will try to explain things for someone who doesn't have experience in music to understand down there as well.

Garrus felt like leaving, or crying, or both.

His teeth and chest ached and there was still nothing coming from his instrument. His father was right, lituus was a waste of time. It felt like he’d never get a sound out of his instrument.

Then there was a human staring at him, hair (Garrus remembered that’s what humans call the thing from their head) billowing out of where it was tied in the back. A bandaid was peeling off her cheek, showing a red scrape underneath.

“What’s that?” she pointed at it.

“it’s called a lituus,” he said, “it’s a turian instrument.”

“How does it work?” she reached out, hand almost touching it.

“I’m supposed to use my subvocals and push these,” he showed her the two keys before moving the valve that his thumb was shoved through, “This changes the key and lets me hit more notes.”

“What does it sound like?”

The human’s head tilted and he made a frustrated noise before bitterly saying, “I don’t know, I can’t get it to make noise.”

“One second,” she said before walking over to an instrument case, pulling out something bright gold.

Garrus couldn’t help but stare at it, see the way that tubes twisted around until it ended with a flare. Unlike the lituus there were three tuning keys and Garrus wondered how anyone could play it.

“This is a trumpet,” the human crawled back onto the chair, “It’s what I play.”

“How does it work?”

“Like this,” the trumpet moved to the human's mouth and after taking a deep breath it sang out.

The tone was beautifully high, Garrus closing his eyes. It sounded like light piercing through the darkness, something that made his chest rumble with appreciation. It stopped way too soon, her chest heaving as she gasped for air.

“I like it,” Garrus decided.

“My name’s Jane,” she reached a hand out and he awkwardly took it, shaking it like something he’d seen his father do with humans.

“Garrus,” he responded before sinking his teeth into the holes of the mouthpiece, he took a deep breath as he was filled with determination.

It was wavery and thin, nothing at all like he imagined, but something came out of the end of his instrument. He could feel the vibrations travel across the tubes draping his body, giving an excited noise as he pulled it out of his mouth.

“I did it!” he exclaimed.

Jane just smiled at him before saying, “I look forward to playing with you.”

* * *

“Good morning,” Jane grumbled, stuffing toast in her mouth.

“You actually going to eat breakfast?” her mother asked, “or run out the door at the crack of dawn.”

“I am going to run out the door,” she saluted the former Alliance Officer, “I need to get some practice in.”

She threw her backpack on before rushing down the stairs. Her feet thudded against the cement as she made her way past the varying houses, each slightly different for the species that lived in it.

“Jane!” she heard behind her before whipping around, Garrus catching up.

“C’mon slowpoke,” she tried to poke him and he just shifted his body out of the way, “We gotta hurry.”

He just sped up, his pack bouncing along his back as he quickly overtook Shepard. She just got that grin on her face, legs beginning to soar as her hair fluttered in the wind. She felt her body begin to ache for breath but refused to relent, not letting Garrus win their morning race again.

Her body pleaded with her to give up but she refused, a cocky grin spreading across her face as she beat Garrus by a split second. Her hands rose in the air triumphantly, Garrus rolling his eyes.

“It’s those two years I have on you,” she said with a smile, “I’d like to thank my mom.”

“Thank her when you actually do something,” he retorted as they made their way up into the building.

“I will when we get to the Citadel competition,” she said with a wide smile and Garrus smiled back at their shared dream.

Only the best school musicians made it to the Citadel. For the homeworlds (and a few of the larger colonies) there were regional, then national, then planetwide competitions. Whoever won the planetwide was sent to the Citadel. However for a small colonies like the planet they were on there were regional, planetwide, then a colonial competition. Then six in each criterion were picked from there to go to the Citadel.

“No time like now to practice,” she sang as they opened the band door, “Lemme grab my trumpet and we can work on our duet.”

She leapt up the carpeted cement bleachers up to the mass of shelving on the wall. She hurried to the trumpet section while Garrus went to the lituus and they both sat down next to each other in the chairs.

Garrus was humming - warming up his subvocals - while Shepard began to put her trumpet together. She slid the mouthpiece on with it far enough out to account for the instrument’s natural sharpness before checking the valves. She tilted her head as she judged how it felt, knowing that she’d have to oil them soon.

“We’re supposed to get a new band director today,” she kicked her feet absentmindedly while blowing hot air through the trumpet to warm the metal up, “Wonder who they are?”

“They have a doctorate in music,” he said back, “That’s what my lituus teacher told me, some music hotshot until they decided to teach kids in the colonies.”

Her eyes brightened and Garrus couldn’t help but feel the excitement with her. They’d wanted to go to the Citadel for years but they’d always stopped at the planetwide competition. Jane said it was because they weren’t putting their best members forward.

He settled his instrument across his chest and back before Garrus settled his teeth into his specialized mouthpiece, warming it with his breath before looking at Jane.

“Just a tuning b-flat,” she said, trumpet to her lips as she prepared to buzz.

They both rang out with the note, listening to each other and bringing their tune closer together until they heard that miraculous sound buzzing over their head. The overtones of their matching pitch seemed to rumble through the air.

“Okay,” she pulled out their music, “I guess just a run through and we’ll pick at what we feel needs more work.”

They took a deep breath in unison before starting. He wondered if this would finally be the piece, the one that truly showed off what both Jane and he had to offer. It sounded like it. There was a beautiful handoff of the melody and harmony, each instrument supporting the other through its solo. For the first time in their years together they found a duet that was meant for trumpet and lituus. They usually had to transcribe a human duet whether it had meant to be trumpet with euphonium or french horn.

His eyes closed as they finished with their tone rumbling together before they pulled the instrument away from their mouth. He looked over to Jane, suddenly struck by the way her eyes sparkled.

“I think maybe I should be softer here,” she pointed at it in the music, “Maybe I should use a mute? We’ll see if the change in tone doesn’t mess it up.”

He nodded, not trusting his voice. He just waited as she dug out the mute, slipping it into the horn and they both raised the instrument again. They played through the line again and Jane just hummed as they finished, her eyebrows pinching together.

“Any thoughts?” she asked and he closed his eyes, humming as he thought about it.

“I like the mute in that area but I think just plain would sound better,” he said, “We should use the mute here instead.”

Jane just nodded, making a note on her copy before they rose their instruments up again. Garrus inhaled sharply as her knee brushed against his but he covered for it by continuing to breathe in as he slipped his teeth into the mouthpiece.

They only had one more chance to go through it before class started and they were loathed to waste any time.

* * *

There was a hum of music around them, his neighbour Tumia sat down next to him while she pulled out her own lituus. Garrus just absentmindedly played a scale, trying to warm up his fingers.

“Afternoon,” she said as she put her folio down, Garrus just nodded before returning to his instrument.

He heard Jane’s trumpet ring out, his friend also playing through scales. He didn’t even need to turn his head to see the disdain on Jane’s neighbours face, an asari who they referred to only as her last name - T’scana - who decided early that she didn’t like Jane.

“You hear about…” was all that Tumia could whisper to him before the door opened and silence suddenly flooded the room.

A salarian walked in. Over fifty eyes of varying species watched as the lithe form walked to the podium before standing up. Garrus tilted his head slightly, feeling the tension in the room build.

“My name is Dr Ulin, my full name is a bit of a mouthful so I’ll give you the abridged version,” he said as he stood there, watching them as intently as they watched him, “I am your new band director. Before we start I’d just like to take attendance so I can start to associate names with faces.”

Garrus just ran through the fingerings for his duet while waiting for his name, only really freezing when Jane responded. Eventually, attendance turned to the turians, Tumia answering first before his name was called.

“Here,” Garrus’ eyes flicked up to the directors as he called, letting the salarian get a look at his face.

“Where’s Kaetius Caeion?” Dr Ulin asked and Garrus felt something squeeze his chest.

“Bootcamp,” Tumia said, “He was pushed up a year by special recommendation.”

Dr Ulin just nodded before making a note in his omni-tool. He barely got a chance to say goodbye to the other turian. Garrus had to run from his house to the spaceport to wish him luck. Garrus felt like he had to do at least that, as section leader.

“Now that we have that out of the way,” Dr Ulin said, “I have something to say.”

The tension returned to the room in full force and Garrus couldn’t help the small subvocal of worry fill him. They were in uncharted waters now, their last director was old and didn’t care much about what they did.

Only time would tell how their new director would act.

“I would like all of us to decide on a goal,” Ulin said, “Something for our band to strive for. Band is cooperative, that’s what making music is. It’s working together as a group to make something beautiful. That won’t happen if we aren’t all seeing the end.”

Garrus heard a mix of subvocals next to him as his own started to yearn. In the split second he closed his eyes he could almost see the Citadel, the way the arms glinted in the nebula’s light. If only he could just go there with Jane.

“Like make gold at the planetary competition?” T’scana asked and Ulin just shrugged.

“If you think that’s the best you can do then we can,” the salarian said, “But I think you can aim much higher than that.”

“The Citadel?” Jane piped up and Garrus could hear the longing in her voice.

“Do you honestly think we can make it to the Citadel?” a clarinet asked, Garrus just impatiently bounced his leg.

Jane rolled her eyes and Garrus just twitched a mandible. They had their own reasons for wanting to go there, didn’t mean that everyone else wanted to.

“Yes,” was all Dr Ulin said, the salarian tilting his head, “I heard you at the planetary competition last year and you nearly qualified for the Colonial. If you wanted to, you could go forward.”

Garrus’ mandibles tightened to his face and he knew Jane was sitting up in her chair. He tried to beat against the hope that filled him and all it took was remembering the conversation he had with his dad yesterday to snuff it out.

Jane might be able to go but it didn’t look like he would.

“So let me ask again,” Dr Ulin said as he stood up, “Who here wants to go to the Citadel Competition. Raise your hand.”

His hand practically flew into the air as did Jane’s. Tumia slowly raised her hand next to him and he could see more hands join them. He tried to not let his chest rumble with relief as he realised that more than half the band had their hands up. There was something different about the spirit of the band, a real hope that seemed to flutter around some of the musicians.

Dr Ulin smiled, flat teeth peering through his lips before nodding.

“Very well,” he said, “If you find yourself grumbling about the work just remember this moment. This is what you decided together.”


	2. Accelerando

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Accelerando - a tempo mark that indicates that the section should be played with increasing speed.

Garrus’ played through the line, discontent rumbling through his instrument as he got stuck on another tricky bit. He eased his teeth out of the mouthpiece before staring at the music. His stomach ached with hunger but he was determined to get it right at least once.

Ever since Dr Ulin had announced that auditions would be held he felt he couldn’t slack off. Not that he planned to.

“Your dad’s gonna yell at you if you stay any later,” he nearly jumped in his chair as Jane walked into the empty band room, folio tucked under her arm with her trumpet case in hand.

“Let him,” he grumbled, “I gotta get this first.”

“C’mon, Garrus,” she whined, legs kicking up in front of her as walked towards him, “Sol’s waiting too.”

Garrus just ignored her and she moved behind him, pretending he wasn’t hyper-aware of her hand moving to rest on his shoulder. She hummed under her breath as she read his music, her eyebrows pinching together.

“Haven’t transcribed it yet, huh?” her eyes followed the bass line before pointing at the spot he was stuck on, “That’s just mean.”

“I wanted to start it first, I’ll transcribe it tonight,” he said, his eyes straining as he turned back to the euphonium sheet music.

Band music that had both human instruments and lituus was incredibly rare, their interspecies band being a bit of an oddity in the universe. Which usually meant that the lituus section had to piece together their music from varying parts - depending on what their director wanted them to play at a certain part.

“What other parts you playing,” she asked before Garrus showed her the contrabass part, what they were covering was circled, as well as some tuba.

Jane just looked over the music, her eyebrows furrowing as she read it.

“He’s really pushing you guys,” her voice wasn’t sympathetic but rather something hopeful.

He had the same hope, that this would be the year they’d finally get there.

“Hurry up!” Solana kicked open the band room doors and they both jumped in surprise, “Just leave him, Jane!”

“I’ll transcribe it for you if you agree to leave,” Jane’s eyes sparkled and he sighed, knowing that he wasn’t going to win.

He might as well get some of his work lessened.

“Okay then,” he handed her his music before putting his instrument away, Sol immediately rushing to Jane’s side.

“I’ll carry it for you,” his sister said, pulling Jane’s trumpet from her hand, “Especially since my brother is offloading his work on you.”

“Thanks, Solana,” Jane said and Sol beamed with joy, Jane taking a moment to tuck his music into her folio.

“Don’t forget,” Solana’s grin went smug, “You said you’d play for me.”

“Did I?” Jane rubbed the back of her head while humming and Garrus wasn’t sure if she was trying to get out of it or if she genuinely forgot.

“You said at the end of the week,” Solana said, “Tomorrow’s the weekend so that makes it today.”

“Damn her memory,” Jane muttered and Garrus laughed.

She was trying to get out of it.

“Trust me, it’s mainly when it’s about you,” Garrus said before shifting his case onto his back, “I’ll bring my lituus then, we can get some practice in.”

Jane just gave him a thumbs up and they left. Solana grabbed Jane’s free arm as his sister excitedly chattered to Jane. They separated from Jane to go home with Solana only grumbling a little at their parting.

“You’ll see her later,” Garrus scolded Sol and she just bared her teeth at him, Garrus flicking her forehead.

She recoiled before running ahead, Garrus just letting her go. He’d have to try and run with the heavy instrument on his back in a few days during his and Jane’s daily race and he only wanted to suffer through that once this week.

He walked through the familiar doors as he got home, breathing a sigh of relief that he would finally be able to put this heavy instrument down.

“... Jane’s later,” Solana blurted to their mom as he walked in, “after dinner.”

“I’ll take her,” Garrus said before hurrying as he noticing his dad.

Garrus ignored his dad’s pointed look at his instrument before scurrying to his room. He put his instrument in the corner before turning to the utilitarian mirror on the wall. He trailed a hand down his fringe, brushing away any dirt that may have settled during the day. His eyes surveyed it in an odd sense of vanity before stepping away.

He plucked at his shirt, wondering if it’d be odd to change it when the door opened.

“Dinner’s ready,” Solana’s face stared at him through his bedroom doorway.

“Get out of my room,” he grumbled as he straightened his shirt.

“I am out of your room,” she bit back while pointing at the doorway, “See, I’m in the hallway.”

“Fine,” was all he said before pushing past her, ignoring his sister’s annoying noise.

Up until she kicked him and he whipped around to her looking around innocently.

* * *

Garrus groaned at the weight on his back, making his way through familiar streets to his friend’s house. His eyes turned to his sister, she baring his teeth at the conniving look he got on his face.

“I’ll drop it,” Solana’s eyes were defiantly staring him down.

“You wouldn’t dare,” was all he said and she deflated.

“You’re right I wouldn’t,” she said before something slipped onto her face, that facade he had grown used to, “It’d make Jane sad so of course I wouldn’t.”

“Then you’ll carry it,” Garrus smugly put the instrument on her back and she began to struggle under the weight.

“Fine,” Solana grumbled and Garrus knew she was going to use this later to get him to do one of her chores.

They found themselves at a familiar house with Solana grumbling about the weight. He pulled it off of her before slipping it on his own back, the two of them making their way up the stairs.

He knocked before opening the door, peering into their kitchen to see Jane washing dishes. She gestured for him to wait before finishing her chore. As she pulled the drain on the sink and dried her hand Jane whipped around to grab her trumpet and some papers for Garrus.

“Here,” she handed them to him and he could see her penmanship in the way she wrote her notes.

“Hey Sol,” Jane greeted her before they made their way to Jane’s backyard.

He raised a hand to Jane’s mom sitting there, gun on her thigh and a drink of something in her hand. Garrus just sat down in one of the chairs and began setting up his instrument while Solana sat down next to Jane’s mom.

Jane had already set up two portable stands outside, Garrus pulling his music on one. They ran through their duet before settling back towards their music for band. Garrus quietly ran through the part he was having trouble with before while Jane turned to the trumpet solo in their new piece.

“You think you’re going to get it?”

It’d usually been decided by seniority, the section leader automatically gaining the solos if there were any. It’d be another year or so before she’d finally become the trumpet’s leader, plopped right at the bottom due to her age.

Jane just shrugged, “He’s deciding by audition right? I might as well fight for it.”

Garrus felt his mandible splay a bit in a grin when she said that. She was their best trumpet. Despite competing with an asari with a decade more experience there was no doubt about that. Though their new director was a salarian which only convinced Garrus it wasn’t the time you spent on music but rather how you spent it.

It was a beautiful solo, her trumpet soaring through the notes. Even then she wasn’t satisfied as she finished before turning to the sheet music. She grumbled under her voice before marking in an alternate fingering to help with the difficult twirling note and picking up her trumpet again.

Garrus felt his chest threatened to rumble with something but he just tampered down his emotions before turning back to his own music.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Band Organization.  
> Bands are organized by sections which are usually dictated by the instrument. The bass is usually considered its own section due to most of its instruments having very few players. Each section has a section leader who has responsibility over that section. Before concerts, they would check attendance with their section before reporting it to the director. The Section leader usually defaults to most solo's but that depends on the band. There is also another position called Concertmaster. In orchestras, it would be the section leader of the First Violins. In concert band, it's usually the oboe Section Leader but that can default to the Clarinet or flute section leader if there is no oboe. The Concertmaster is responsible for many things and is considered the face of the band, they also negotiate between the band and director.


	3. Modulation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Modulation: Changing the key of a piece, whether through the use of sharps or flats or through changing the key signature

“You are going to sit and eat it,” her mother glared her down, Jane returning the stare.

“I don’t have time,” Jane said with her grip on her trumpet tightening.

“It is your birthday and you’re going to eat your fucking breakfast.”

“Language,” Jane muttered and her mom just picked up one of the pancakes, ready to smear it across Jane’s face.

“I’ll eat it!” Jane’s hands whipped up in surrender, “I don’t have time to shower again.”

She shovelled food down her throat before choking out a goodbye. Her split-second victory was quickly pushed aside as she nearly vomited it all up at the gate, Garrus just patting her back as she heaved.

* * *

“Hey Garrus,” Tumia looked at him with something on her face and he just stared blankly back, “You going with anyone to the colony anniversary tomorrow?”

“I promised my parents I’d take my sister with Jane,” he said, “Why?”

“No reason,” he thought she sounded a bit disappointed but was completely unsure why.

He turned back to his music,

“Hey,” Tumia asked again, her eyes refusing to look at him, “Are you and Shepard dating?”

“N…no?” he stuttered, his hand tightening on his instrument, "What brought this up?"

He’d honestly never considered dating Jane but now the idea was put there he found he didn't dislike it as much as he should.

“It’s just the rumour going around,” Tumia seemed a bit relieved, “You’re very close, I can see how it started.”

“We’ve been friends for nine years, of course, we’re close,”

“It’s more than that, you look at her sometimes like…” Tumia splayed a mandible with a smile, “I mean if that’s something you want then I’ll support you. The lituus section stands together.”

It was a very turian sentiment and he did appreciate her support. Even if he wasn’t sure why she was offering it.

"Uh… thanks Tumia," Garrus murmured as Tumia put her instrument away, "Have fun tomorrow. Don't worry about the lights, I'll be here for a bit longer"

"Yeah you too," was all she said before she left and Garrus clicked his mandibles together before turning back to his music.

Jane greeted Tumia as she drew near Garrus, giving him a conspiratorial look before raising her hand over her mouth to whisper something to Tumia. Tumia laughed before resting a hand on Jane's shoulder.

"That's alright, I'll find someone else," was all she said before slipping away and he knew they were talking about him,"Thanks anyway, Jane."

Jane grabbed a chair to pull next to him as the room emptied, pulling a stand over before plopping her folio onto it. Garrus just watched her before realising he never wished her a happy birthday this morning, too distracted by her near vomit at the gate this morning to say anything.

“Happy birthday,” Garrus leant forward in his chair, “how’s it feel being sixteen?”

She warmed her instrument by blowing air through it before giving him an exasperated look, “I feel the exact same as I did yesterday, ask me again in two years. I actually get to do things then.”

Garrus’ mouth went dry before he tried to casually ask, “Didn’t your mom say you could start dating at sixteen?”

“Who would honestly ask me out?” she scoffed and he felt his mandibles press tightly against his face, “I scare most of the boys and a good chunk of the girls in our school.”

Garrus shrugged before stating as simply as he could without letting his emotions slip out, “Some people like being scared.”

Jane just laughed, her back pressing against the back of the chair while her head whipped back. Garrus flared a mandible at her, it wasn’t his intention to make her laugh but he’d take it. He’d take whatever he could get.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” she said, her fingers pressing into the instrument as she followed the music with her eyes.

“You could just say you have no sense of romance,” he teased her before settling his teeth into his mouthpiece, blowing through his own instrument.

“Like you have any either,” she retorted, pulling off her mouthpiece and tossing it at his head, Garrus squeaking through his lituus as the metal bounced off his fringe.

“What does that mean?” he demanded as he slipped his mouth free, glaring at her.

“Tumia was asking you out on a date just then,” she rolled her eyes and Garrus bit back his shock, “you know I wouldn’t be offended if you wanted to go to the festival with her. Solana might actually prefer just going with me.”

Garrus just looked at Jane in shock. His mandibles splayed a bit before he snapped those back in with a click. He felt a bit dense but he was also okay with how that turned out. Tumia was pretty but he'd never thought of her that way.

“You’re acting like Sol won’t use any excuse to get me in trouble,” Garrus grinned at her, “I don’t mind going with you. Now stop distracting me so we can get some work done."

He wanted to go with her, the realisation shook him to the core.

He hadn’t even considered dating Jane but now that the possibility had been posed to him he couldn’t help but wonder what if they did. Would it change their friendship? Was she even into turians? He had never looked at humans that way but Jane was Jane. Something bordering the lines between their species.

He shook his head, he didn’t have time to think about this. Jane was looking at him with a curious look but he ignored it as he pulled out his music.

* * *

Solana looked up at him as they made their way towards the field where stands were set up for the Anniversary. He just shifted the lituus on his back before double-checking that the gun strapped to his gun was set to safety.

While it was a peaceful colony there were still wild animals around, everyone got some sort of combat training. Though turians were drilled harder to prepare for their inevitable enlistment into military service.

Damn if that thought didn’t sour his mood.

“You’re going to tell her right?” Sol asked and he rumbled a warning in his chest.

Not that she’d actually listen to that.

“Of course,” he snapped at her, Solana’s mandibles widening smugly.

“Don’t worry Garrus,” she kicked her feet, “I’ll just take your spot in her life.”

“Sol,” his eyes glinted as he stared her down.

“Tell her or I will,” Solana crossed her arms, “And you know it’s better if you say it.”

Garrus grimaced, Jane would kick his ass if he heard about it from Solana instead of him. Pleased to have won an argument, Solana’s mandibles spread wide and something smug rumbled through her chest.

“Fine, tonight,” he grumbled before snarling at Solana’s defiant face, “I will!”

“Jane’s strong,” Solana said with something resembling familial affection, “I think you worry too much about her.”

His mood lightened up, Solana was just looking out for them. She was a pain in the ass when she wanted to but he wouldn’t have anyone else for a sister. Besides, it was fun sometimes to rile her up.

Garrus hummed as he debated whether to tease her or to thank her but before he could settle on which he could see Jane waiting for them up ahead. He felt a twinge of something as he fought with his eyes to not look at her waist in the blouse and skirt she decided to wear tonight.

“You look nice,” Solana was quickly by Jane’s side and Jane just beamed.

“Don’t I?” she did a small twirl, skirt dancing around her with the movement that left Garrus’ mouth dry, “Birthday gift from my mom so I thought I should wear it.”

Garrus just nodded with what he hoped was a casual look. As Jane took the lead he fixed his gaze on her trumpet that she strapped to her back. It seemed a safe spot as they made their way from stall to stall.

“Hey,” Jane whirled around to face him with a smile and he scolded himself at finding himself distracted by the way her hair glimmered with light, “Shaved ice?”

Garrus just nodded before they shifted over. Solana got her favourite while Garrus finally decided on persica. Jane got something blue that Garrus felt uneasy at the sight of, a little too close to the colour of turian blood.

That unease spread into a warmth across his chest as he watched her eat for a split second. Damnit Tumia, he cursed in his mind. Now that the idea had latched in his mind he couldn’t stop wondering. He shoved a full spoonful of ice into his mouth, using the pain flaring at the top of his mouth as a distraction.

He pulled up his omni-tool to look at the time, noticing the sun quickly beginning to set. A turian about Solana’s age got excited at the sight of her, Garrus vaguely remembering the girl as one of Sol’s friends. Solana ran over to chatter before turning back to Garrus.

“Hey is alright if I watch the fireworks with Sidia?” Solana asked with an excited look on her face.

“Yeah sure,” Garrus said, “Just meet us at Jane’s when the fireworks are over.”

“We should probably head out,” Jane said, “C’mon.”

They made their way up to where they usually watched the fireworks, a path that led up to a clearing with a few benches. Most people preferred to watch from home or near the park so it wasn’t surprising that it was empty.

There was silence as they set up their instruments before the first firework crackled in the air above them as they finished.

“Want to play the duet from last year?” Jane asked and he just nodded, settling his teeth in before playing.

Her trumpet was clear, soaring above his lituus. They danced around each other, her melody finding harmony in his supporting notes. He took a breath while she covered him, chest rumbling again as his subharmonics travelled through the instrument.

It always seemed like she was in front of him, rushing ahead to something he couldn’t see. Though now he wished that she actually was, that they could spend longer together. His notes stuttered and she lowered her instrument down too look at him.

“Are you okay?” she asked, brushing that stubborn piece of hair to the side, “You’re a bit messier than usual. Even yesterday you seemed out of it.”

Garrus eased his teeth out of his mouthpiece, fingers fiddling with the valve keys as he went over the notes.

“It’s my last year,” he finally confessed, “My dad wants me to start boot camp after graduation this coming summer. This is my last chance.”

“You’re leaving?” her trumpet lowered and Garrus’ mandibles were tight to his face at how lost she sounded.

“I’m turning fifteen this year,” he said, “It’s not something I can ignore.”

She just looked out, watching the fireworks crackle in the air above them. He wished he knew what she was thinking, watching her head tilt forward.

“Turians aren’t fair,” she finally said with her trumpet lowering, “I’m two years older than you and you still beat me to adulthood.”

“Jane,” he wished he knew what to say, had the courage to say what he discovered about her.

“It’s okay,” she murmured, “I knew logically that you’d have to leave sometime. Just didn’t expect it so soon.”

Instead, he just sat there, hands awkwardly holding his lituus.

“Okay then,” she turned to him with a smile, her ponytail shifting, “This year for sure, we’ll get to the Citadel competition.”

“We only have to beat the entire planet’s best bands.”

“We are the planet’s best band,” she said, “We’re going to make it happen then we’re winning the colony competition. We’re going to the Citadel. Both as a band and as a duet.”

She raised a fist to the sky, her body outlined by the glimmering lights above them. He felt his heart weakly pound in his chest, his subvocals rumbling with something that would be entirely embarrassing if he was playing his instrument.

“Yeah,” he stood up, the weight of his instrument pushing down on his shoulders before raising his fist up next to her.

“We’ll make your dad listen to you,” her eyes sparkled.

Damn if that wasn’t the crux of why he refused to think harder about why his mouth went dry at the sight of her. Despite the amount of work she took on she did it for him. He wondered if he’d ever get this lucky again, to find someone so determined to do something for him that she’d dedicate nine years of her life just for him.

Just because the only promise he could get from his dad was that if he made it to the Citadel he’d consider going to one of his concerts.

There were few people like Jane in the universe and he wasn’t going to ruin his friendship with her just because of some silly idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never stated before but Jane is 16, Garrus is 14, Solana is 11 (nearly 12 so three grades below Garrus). Partly due to sorta canon, the writer for Garrus stated that Garrus would be two years younger but I also did want to have this being Garrus' last year as a plot point. There's no canon on Solana's age so this is my canon now.
> 
> I decided to stop doing the explanations unless someone genuinely wants me to explain something for them. I also removed the bit in the summary about doing the trilogy because I'm not sure when or if I'll go further with this idea. We'll see how I feel when I'm finished this.

**Author's Note:**

> Firstly, I will say that they do not live on Mindoir. This is not a typical colony background for Shepard. Shepard will be called Jane just because it'd be weird for them to be kids calling each other by their last names. 
> 
> I will also talk a little about music because I had to invent an instrument for Garrus after realising he would have an impossible time with a lot of human instruments. No lips for brass or woodwind and he'd struggle with string due to his fingers. I didn't want him to be percussion though so I came up with the Lituus. So starting with the theory of sound it isn't hard to make music, it's literally just vibrations travelling through a material. There are four main groups depending on how and what the vibration is travelling through. Percussion which is hitting things with sticks ie the drum. Woodwind which is blowing air through a reed (double or single) or the opening ie clarinet (single-reed), oboe (double-reeded), flute (opening). Brass which is buzzing made with your lips through metal ie trumpet or tuba. Strings which is dragging something across strings or plucking them to vibrate the strings ie Violin. The piano is considered a mix between string and percussion due to it being hammers that hit strings. 
> 
> With all that in mind, I came up with the Lituus. It looks like a Sousaphone which curls around the turian's back. It had two valves to press in (think of the ones like a trumpet) as well as one that shifts like a trombone albeit much smaller and controlled using a turian's thumb. Using both the buttons and the one that shifts are how the notes are picked, the one that slides sets the other two into different keys to ensure a wider ranch of tones. It gets its vibration through a turian's subharmonics which makes it the sort of instruments that music nerds would classify as singing if it was real. Due to the materials of the instrument, it brings those subharmonics up into the range of hearing that humans hear and it would be an expressive instrument as a turian's emotions literally fuel it. It's a bass instrument and uses special notation that turians use. Lituus is an acutal roman instrument, a sort of early horn, so i figured the name fit.


End file.
